The Los Angeles Lakers earned their 22nd victory of the season against the Utah Jazz Monday night.
The Lakers now sit at .500 after the 101-95 win.
LeBron James once again led the way for the Lakers. James made a vow to Laker Nation via Twitter that the team and himself would play better; he came out and scored 25 points on 9-for-20 shooting in 37 minutes of play (James also shot 3-for-8 from the three-point line while grabbing seven rebounds and dishing out seven assists).
James spoke postgame on what his mindset was coming into the game. He also spoke on what he needed to do to help his team win.
“I’m just trying to put everyone in position to be successful and reading the game while the game was going on and I knew the way we could be successful offensively,” James said. “The guys responded well to what I saw and Stanley had a big-time game. Our effort and energy wasn’t where it needed to be in the Denver game, second half of Memphis game and the other game,” James said. “We weren’t playing to our capabilities. As the leader of this team I was taking onus of that and letting Laker Nation know.”
Russell Westbrook stepped up and had a good game. Westbrook scored 15 points on 5-for-14 shooting. Westbrook knocked down 1-for-4 from the three-point line. He also grabbed eight rebounds and dished out three assists. Westbrook had a career highlight play when he drove the lane and dunked on Rudy Gobert. This game could be the turning point that ends Westbrook’s struggles that he has been having as of late.
More Lakers Contributions
- Stanley Johnson 15 points, grabbed five rebounds and dished out three assists.
- Malik Monk 14 points and dished out seven rebounds.
- Talen Horton-Tucker scored 11 points off the bench.
The Lakers face the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday, 1/19 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. Tip-off is at 10:30 pm Eastern/ 7:30 pm Pacific.
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